My husband and I are taking The Sands of Time cruise on the Marina on Nov. 2
2011. We are in a category B4 room and must wait 45 days before the cruise leaves to make reservations at the specialty restaurants--Red Ginger, Toscano, Jacqes, and the steak restaurant that I have forgotten the name of.

We are wondering if anyone can offer any suggestions on the best way to get these reservations? Also, is it better to call Oceania or try online?

We are flexible with days and do not care what days we go to each dining room. We would just like the chance to dine in these restaurants.

We did eat in Toscano and the steak restaurant on the Marina on a different cruise and they were wonderful! On the Marina cruise, we sighed up for the restaurants when we came aboard.

You can sign up online if you choose or call Oceania
Online go to the already Booked then dining reservations just click on the restaurant then the time & if you want to share or not ...have your booking number ready
Then just do the rest of the restaurants same way
Toscana (Italian) & Polo (steak house) Red Ginger (Asian) Jacques (French)

You did not try the others on your last cruise??

You can also go to the desk on deck 5 and see if you can get additional nights if you want ...it seems to be easier on Marina to do so ..more places to choose from

We had only the choice of dining at Toscano and Pollo on our previous trip on the Regatta. These were the only specialty restaurants on this ship. I just realized that I said in my original post that we were on the Marina! We are taking our 1st Marina cruise in Nov.

We are now looking forward to Red Ginger and Jaques on this Marina cruise.

We had only the choice of dining at Toscano and Pollo on our previous trip on the Regatta. These were the only specialty restaurants on this ship. I just realized that I said in my original post that we were on the Marina! We are taking our 1st Marina cruise in Nov.

We are now looking forward to Red Ginger and Jaques on this Marina cruise.

That is why i was confused that you did not try the others
Be sure to try the grill section in the Terrace & Barrristas of course if you drink coffee
Enjoy the cruise
Did you get one of the cabins with the larger balcony?
L

We did get a larger balcony at a VERY reasonable rate. We were booked originally in an inside room, not by choice. The travel agent waited too long to call. We originally wanted an outside room. When the final payment was due, I asked if any outside room became available. He then found this larger balcony room which was an upgrade from the inside room we had at this point.

I am booked on the Marina for the March sailing to the Caribbean. Like you I have been on the Regatta (which was lovely!) and am now looking forward to this sailing.

Which resturant did you enjoy the most? Also, did you take any courses at the Culinary Center? I have been looking for menu's for each of the speciality resturants & even checked the Oceania Website under already booked to see the menu's but they aren't there.

What did you enjoy most about the ship? BTW, we are booked into a B4 balcony as well, so let us know how the service and the room were.

I am booked on the Marina for the March sailing to the Caribbean. Like you I have been on the Regatta (which was lovely!) and am now looking forward to this sailing.

Which resturant did you enjoy the most? Also, did you take any courses at the Culinary Center? I have been looking for menu's for each of the speciality resturants & even checked the Oceania Website under already booked to see the menu's but they aren't there.

What did you enjoy most about the ship? BTW, we are booked into a B4 balcony as well, so let us know how the service and the room were.

Thanks

The ship is lovely ..large (IMO) compared to the R-ships but still very spacious
Did not care for the library ...R-ships much better

We only went to Red Ginger ..it was OK but then food is subjective
The NEW Terrace Cafe is very nice with the grill to order station
Tables were a little closer together than on the R-ships also in the GDR

We had met several of the past crew members so it was fun to see them again

There was a GI bug going around the ship on our cruise so we did not do many things ..tried to stick to ourselves
I was disappointed that Oceania did not post a notice that the bug was on the previous cruise & by mid cruise they closed off the handling of any utensils in the buffet (not that there is many anyway as the crew do the serving)
The cruise following our I heard were notified & had hand sanitizers left in the cabins
No special Afternoon tea that they usually have on longer sailings I suspect because of the bug

All in all it was a good cruise, service was good since we were on the 3 rd cruise there were some very new crew members still finding their way

entertainment ..well We found most of it not as good as the R-ships but that is subjective ..others enjoyed the productions shows